Wind and solar slashing corporate energy costs by 40%

The continuing fall in the cost of new wind and solar farms, and the emergence of new firming contract products, is allowing large corporate and industrial users to slash energy costs by up to 40 per cent.

Halliwell says the new RE Hub will serve as a marketplace to match commercial and industrial energy buyers with wind and solar project owners and developers, and facilitate the work of consultants and energy retailers.

It will also provide firming contracts for those wanting to reduce their exposure to market spikes at times when their contracted wind or solar farms are not producing.

“The objective of the platform is simple,” he says. “It is a marketplace to standardise and drive more wholesale renewable energy, firming products and corporate PPA transactions.”

The firming products, such as its recently released “firm solar product” allow renewables to be presented as transactional firm contracts to the wholesale energy market and build liquidity for renewables to function with the wholesale contract market.

“The future of the renewable energy market will require firming solutions for intermittent generators to transact advantageously,” he says,

“Renewable Energy Hub will drive off-take opportunities for projects and energy cost saving options for businesses, through simplifying and standardising corporate PPAs transactions and making them available for more energy users.”

Halliwell estimates more than 20 corporates are already engaged in detailed PPA discussions, and intermittent firming market solutions are already being transacted in the wholesale market.

One of the first users of the hub was Mars Australia, which has contracted to take around one-quarter of the output from the Kiamal solar farm to match its annual electricity use of 101GWh from its six Australian factories and two offices.

Kiamal is being developed by Total Eren, and director Michael Vawser said the deal was unique, and emerged only because of the introduction to the Renewable Hub marketplace.

“To end up with a 20 year PPA covering 100 per cent of MARS Australia’s electricity use is extraordinary and ground breaking,” he said in a statement.

Giles Parkinson is founder and editor of Renew Economy, and is also the founder of One Step Off The Grid and founder/editor of The Driven. Giles has been a journalist for 35 years and is a former business and deputy editor of the Australian Financial Review.

Giles Parkinson is founder and editor of Renew Economy, and is also the founder of One Step Off The Grid and founder/editor of The Driven. Giles has been a journalist for 35 years and is a former business and deputy editor of the Australian Financial Review.

6 Comments

Phil NSW 10 months ago

After reading your summary Giles, I got tot thinking. Because of recent energy policies doing the opposite to how they were sold to the electorate, numerous businesses were forced to take their manufacturing to lower cost countries. Are we in the position if a proactive approach to low cost energy was adopted international companies should consider moving (back) here?

MaxG 10 months ago

Moving costs money; energy at par does not provide a compelling reason to come back. More so, energy cost is only one factor; less regulation and lower labour cost also need to considered… Think further, and you’ll realise there won’t be a come-back.

Phil NSW 10 months ago

Sad that the government who is supposed to support business is the one killing it. It goes in keeping with this mantra about 1 million jobs. That is only par for that period. Nothing out of the box at all.

Nick Kemp 10 months ago

Apparently there aren’t even a million jobs – more like a million more hours of work (or even parts of hours)